Up the Dalyan River!
With Seaclusion’s crew back to 2, we had a brief wander around the exclusive club that was D-Marin (the posh marina) and then we finally bid farewell to Gocek and its fabulous nooks & crannies (we will be back here next year, we loved it so much) on the 3rd August, heading Westward towards Marmaris.
D-Marin Resort
After a fabulous sail in westerlie force 3/4 winds we stopped in a tiny backwater place called Ekincik, 39 nautical miles from Gocek, where we dropped our anchor in clear waters. There is little here but it is the best place to leave the boat to jump in another and go up the Koycegiz River to the ancient ruins of Caunos and Dalyan Village. Some might ask why we didn’t just sail up there….. read on and you will discover why!
Ekincik
Having negotiated a cracking deal the day before, our little shallow draughted boat arrived at 9.30 to pick us up in the morning calm, and we set off out of our bay towards Turtle Beach and the entrance to the River.
Turtle Beach
(named as such because of the Loggerhead Turtles that have made it their own when the sun goes down)
Our skipper expertly navigated the entrance and the waterways, which in our minds was a water based equivalent to Hampton Court Maze, passing a number of fish farms and joining the M25 with a number of boats coming down river from Dalyan, clearly we were doing this the wrong way round!
Our first stop upriver was Caunos. The ruins included an amphitheatre, baths, temples and a market place but the temperature was soaring even by 10am so it was a short-lived stop for us. Thankfully we had beaten the crowds at that time.
The views of the marshy land around, from the top of Caunos.
Our boat and skipper waiting patiently for us.
We then set off upriver, passing through a very narrow gap in a fish farm and stopped to admire the most amazing Lycian Tombs built into the cliff face, clearly Dalyan had some very rich patrons back in the day!
Life along the river banks was fascinating, with a mixture of local people fishing, homes and restaurants to cater for the summer hoards. On our approach to Dalyan, we spotted boats turned into garden nurseries, Ottoman style punts, minute car ferries capable of carrying 2 cars max and even a wedding going on.
Dalyan is now a bustling resort, mainly centered along the waterfront, full of eateries and hostels, all very tastefully done out. The town itself comprised of 2 main streets full of vendors selling the inevitable knock offs (I have to say we were very pleased as we hadn’t realised swimmies were a requirement on this trip.. you will see later, and this street enabled to purchase some each for less than £8!
Our Skipper once again patiently waited for us to wander around the streets and stop for a wonderful lunch of fresh fish and salad, (and affording us the opportunity to change into our newly acquired swimmies) before whisking us further up river.
Within 20 minutes he then turned towards the river bank and finding a spot, moored up and ushered us up over the road, leaving us in the capable hands of a lady who guided us into the Mud Baths, yes, you got it, Mud baths! I will let the pics do the talking. Sadly, or not, depending on which way you look at it, mud covered hands are not conducive to cameras so there are no shots of us for you to bribe us with later, phew! Fish eating my feet however were!
Cleaned up, with icy cold showers literally, we made our way back to the boat and motored the rest of the way up to the Lake and then homeward bound, our skipper having a little bit of fun with another boat, first trying to overtake and then joining its slipstream!
The joviality however did depart us all for a while, as we approached the narrow entrance and saw the winds in the bay had got up, both David and I and our skipper worrying about their boat, for different reasons, ours left all alone on anchor, our skipper, wondering how he was going to get through the surf, without beaching it. It took him 20 painful minutes to do so, repeatedly getting stuck in the sand whilst other boats waiting to do the same watched on! Not sure entirely how he managed it, but that he did and we were soon on our way again, grateful to see Seaclusion safe in her anchorage as we had left her!
Getting back on board however was the next challenge in the swell now piling into our bay, and it took 5 turns to do so without causing any damage to our boats or us! Needless to say, we were pleased to see one space left on the pontoon which we hastily grabbed rather than facing another rolly polly night!
Next Stop will be Marmaris to celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary, can you believe how fast time has flown by!
7th August 2018
